A (Private) Social Network For People Who Love to Learn
Hello Friend/Collegue of Mine!
Welcome to Rainy Day Learning Club. You’re seeing this message at the top of the page because you got a personal invite from me to join but I need you let you in on the issue...the club isn’t fully real just yet.
We’ve got the concept. We’ve got the technology.
But we need the humans. We need you.
I sent you an early invite because I think you a have a ton to share with our community - and, I think you might enjoy learning from the other people I invited (after all, they’re rad learners like you).
This is not bullshit to make you feel good. It’s a selfish act for our business - which depends on having a great community. Our first members will set the tone for what comes next. There’s only like 50-100 people who will see this note and then the community will be out of beta and on sale to the general public. It’s got to be the right people for the community to be awesome.
Private social media is the future. I’m tired of selling my emotion and attention to the highest bidding advertiser. It gives me whiplash, and takes away my control.
Let’s take a break; it’s a way of moving forward. That’s what the whole Rainy Day thing is about - respite, curiosity, and growth. (See the sales pitch, below)
One day Rainy Day might be just one of many private online communities that have a big impact on your life. We want to be a part of that - the real multiverse. A way to adapt as the world’s complexity increases at an increasing rate.
Oh, and for you, founding and invited member, your membership is free - at least for the first year, and perhaps beyond - we expect to give long term benefits to our founding members. Again, it’s not because we’re generous. We need quality learners to help found the community and make it awesome, so I hope you’ll consider joining us!
Ok, back to the sales pitch:
Remember When Social Media Was Interesting?
Hi! I’m Matt. I’m an special educator who’s been teaching for 25 years - helping students, parents, teachers, and all kinds of people learn better, in school and out.
Of course I believe that learning is SO important. After all, I’ve seen the life-changing results of good learning over and over again. When we learn to do things we couldn’t do before, it’s magic, making better outcomes, better relationships, and better communities.
When I go to sleep I want to know more than when I woke up that morning. I want to be more able, more curious, more kind, and more informed. Life-long learning is our only hope if we’re going to reach our potential as a species (or even survive).
I used to try and find that growth in big-box social media. But each little bit of learning I squeeze out of a social media giant comes at a huge cost. It squanders my attention and gives me emotional whiplash. It blocks learning.
So I’m starting an online club for anyone who is passionate about growing and learning. Unlike most social media, it’s private. You have to pay to be a member.
$49/month to be exact.
It’s not for everyone.
I mean, why would you hand over your hard-earned money to join a private social network when you can consume lots of edutainment on social media, for free? There’s interesting groups inside Facebook, crazy demos and recipes on TikTok, and lots of other ways to learn online if you’re super focused and disciplined.
But those sites are far from free. The cost you deeply because these bohemeths lock you into a stereotype, control the algorithm, and feed you things that tingle your dopamine but don’t actually help you. They make you less happy and more stagnant.
Those corporations get paid when you get mad. They get paid when you stay longer than you want - because you’ll click on ads. It’s incentivized to waste your time. “Free” social media is dumpster diving for gems in a sea of garbage.
If we want to get real benefit from connecting online, we need to fund our social networks with our own money, and make decisions to benefit the community, not advertisers.
Networks should flourish when the people within them thrive.
That’s the whole idea here. We’re trying to think differently about what makes ‘good community’ around learning.
We put your membership dollars back into the community: for hiring members to teach free classes and contribute content, sponsoring contests and events, and for features and designs that benefit our community members instead of advertisers.
We have discussions, live classes, resources, contests, and collaborative projects. It helps with school, work, and home. You can chat with others about big topics - like climate change, crypto, music, psychology, comedy, surviving disaster, the natural world - really, anything that people want to talk about
And we help with your individual learning challenges. Free classes and workshops; support for learning at school and work; special forums for teachers and people who help others learn.
We only make money when you love it - when you get way more than $49 value. In fact, if you don’t feel the membership is worth way more than $49/ month, you should not buy it! The point is to provide a ton of value, so that it’s a no brainier.
You can try it with no risk - we offer a 10-day trial. If you love it, you can easily continue. Otherwise it’s easy to cancel with no charge.
How can we be confident that we’ll create so much value - so much “consumer surplus,” as my ol’ Econ prof would say? It’s because we know the magic formula - the single secret that allows us to create huge learning and growth for our members.
Know Thyself; Grow Thyself
What’s the one magical secret you need for growth? Ok, that was a joke. There’s no magic secret - no “silver bullet” when it comes to learning. Learning is a complex process that mixes social, emotional, and cognitive factors. The search for a magic solution is part of the problem.
Learning is more like gardening than baking. It’s not about a precise and perfect recipe, It’s about creating and managing an environment that in turn creates learning. It’s about learning, joy, and curiosity.
Here’s 6 unique features that will allow you to grow yourself in Rainy Day Learning Club.
Discussions and forums with earnest learners of all abilities on every imaginable topic
Contests, quests, and other learning games, for cash and prizes.
Enjoy free classes in music, animals, philosophy, tech and more.
Share your art, knowledge, and more at our online community open mics, or tune in to hear what your fellow members are up to.
Community driven projects to benefit others, or do something awesome.
Earn money doing work for the community (like building resources, organizing events, or more).
We’re currently in private beta
If you’re reading this page, you got a private invite, and a free one-year membership. So you don’t need to do anything to sign up! You just need to go here